Admission

An excellent master's degree is the prerequisite for admission to the PiF Programme.

Important note: Below is the description of the application process for the intake in September 2020. The main deadlines have already passed, but there are still a few open spots available. If you are interested in applying, please contact pif@unisg.ch as soon as possible.

Each year in the beginning of October, we publish a list of fields and topics in which future PhD students will be able to work, and the supervisors who will supervise the PhD theses. We most strongly suggest that you wait with your application until this time. Once available, this list can be found under "Downloads" at the right side of this page (please check in the end of December for updates). Please refer to this list when you write the description of your research interests and explicitly state your two most preferred PhD supervisors at the beginning of this description (all applicants may be considered by all potential supervisors at the School of Finance, but your preferences will be important for the matching to a supervisor).

After your application, we will try to match you with a supervisor for your PhD studies. Only matched candidates will be admitted to the PhD program.

Admitted candidates will start their coursework in the following September. Admitted candidates will also be hired as research assistants at their supervisor's chair for the full four years of the PhD studies (unless you bring your own funding, for example via a national grant – in this case, please be sure to explicitly state this in your application). In some cases, applicants can start as research assistants already before September. The salary for research assistants may vary depending on the contract offered by the supervisors. In general, salaries at the University of St. Gallen are determined in accordance with the salary table (pdf, in German). As this table may be difficult to read, consider the following example: Someone who finishes her master's degree right before starting the PhD and obtains a 50% research assistant position earns about 41500 CHF per year ("F4 - Assistierende mit Masterabschluss", 1st line, 3rd column, divided by two). If this person has a 70% research assistant position two years later, she receives about 60500 CHF ("F4 - Assistierende mit Masterabschluss", 3rd line, 3rd column, multiplied by 0.7). In addition, the PiF program offers generous funding for conference attendance.

Review Dates and Applications

Two reviews of the applications will take place. Please apply before the latter deadline the latest (note these dates differ from the formal application deadlines of the university, but your chances to be admitted will be minimal if you do not apply before the second deadline below).

November 15, 2019. Candidates who wish to maximize their chances of success should apply before this deadline. Only a few candidates will be matched right after this deadline and applications of candidates who are not matched immediately will be considered again at the next review date. Only apply before November 15 if you can commit to accepting a PhD position within this calendar year!

January 31, 2020. We aim at matching all available supervisors to PhD candidates as soon as possible after this date.

Applicants who already hold a master's degree submit their application online via the university's admission portal. Applicants who do not yet hold a master's degree, but who will obtain the final grade of their master's degree between January 15, 2020, and July 31, 2020 (for University of St. Gallen master students: August 31, 2020), send all documents in one pdf file (!) to pif@unisg.ch (except for the reference letters, which should be sent directly to this address by the letter writers).

Documents

To apply, please check which documents exactly are needed at the university's admission portal (please also check these specifications if you do not hold a master's degree yet). In brief, the most important are the following:

Master's degree in finance, economics, or a related field with very good grades (current master students who will finish their degree before June 30 may also apply, as described above)

GRE/GMAT (not compulsory for students with a master's degree from the University of St. Gallen but still recommended)

Transcripts of records

Description of research interests (explicitly referring to the list of proposed fields/topics and potential supervisors)

CV

Evidence of English language proficiency

2 reference letters, sent directly by the letter writers (or their secretaries)